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by 117_Nectar



Series: Found Sanctuary [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Cat/Human Hybrids, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, Healing, Hospitalization, Hybrids, Panic Attacks, Past Abuse, Recovery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:41:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29502159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/117_Nectar/pseuds/117_Nectar
Summary: Taeyong had been surviving just fine by himself. Sure, he barely had enough to eat and sometimes it got so cold that he passed out, but it was better than the hellhole he had been living in before he escaped. He had made a home for himself on the streets and even if the weather was hell, and he had nothing to eat, the freedom made it worthwhile.Suddenly, a meddling human changed all that and Taeyong woke up in a warm bed.  Taeyong found himself in this strange new environment, where people seemed to treat him with kindness, a rarity in a world where he was considered to be little more than property.
Series: Found Sanctuary [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2167086
Comments: 8
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally supposed to be a one shot but it got sort of long so I wanted to break it up into chapters.
> 
> This is a work of fiction and the characters in it are in no way accurate representations of anyone in real life <3

It was cold again today.

Taeyong’s breath fogged up the bakery’s display window, his nose pressed against the glass as he gazed longingly at the glazed treats he wanted so badly but knew he could not have. He stared at the pink frosting on the cupcakes and tried to imagine what they would taste like melting on his tongue.

He could remember eating a cupcake before once, just once, in his life. That had been long ago, when he was still a young kitten living with his breeder, long before he had been sent to the pet shop, and long before he had ran away. He hated that it was called a pet shop, hated that in the eyes of society, he was nothing more than a pet, despite most of his genes originating from humans.

The shop door banged open, abruptly pulling Taeyong from his daydream of cakes and frosting and he was hit by a wave of delicious smells before the angry shop owner appeared in the door. He startled away from the window and his tail instinctively curled between his legs, already knowing what would happen next. So, he ran. Ran away before the shop owner could throw stones at him. Ran away before he could be hurt by their painful words, because to these people, he was nothing more than a freak to exploit.

His legs carried him down the street and he ducked into a convenience store as soon as the immediate danger was gone. The adrenaline wore off and left him shivering, cold, despite being inside.

He didn’t get much of a chance to catch his breath though, he never did.

“Excuse me, if you’re not going to buy anything I need to ask you to leave,” a girl called from behind the counter. She scrutinised Taeyong up and down, taking in his disheveled appearance and decidedly non-human ears and tail, and more importantly, lack of collar.

Taeyong didn’t say anything and left quickly before the clerk could say anything else or call animal control, bracing himself for the freezing air before stepping out onto the street. He paid the glares and sideway glances no mind, he had gotten used to them by now.

He crossed his arms and shivered, looking around, he should probably start searching for a place to spend the night, his usual place had recently become overrun with gang members so returning there wasn’t an option. Choosing the right place to sleep could mean the difference between life and death when you lived exposed on the streets of Seoul.

His stomach complained and he glanced back at the store he had just left, contemplating if it’d be worth the chance to steal some food, but decided against it and forced his legs to move on.

He trudged through the snow that had begun to settle on the ground, ears pressed back against the wind, trying to find some place that was reasonably sheltered.

He happened across a small alley, almost unnoticeable in between a large grocery store and a fast food restaurant and decided that this would have to do. He could smell dough baking and gulped, stomach grumbling uncomfortably, he might try to find something salvageable from the rubbish bins later.

Exhaustion won over hunger and Taeyong had barely taken two steps into the alley before he passed out.

  
  
  


Taeyong knew something was wrong before he even opened his eyes. The ground he was lying on was soft, too soft, and there was something heavy covering him that kept him warm.

It felt comfortable, but that was strange, Taeyong had  _ never _ felt comfortable while living on the streets. The cold concrete wasn’t exactly a nice place to sleep, and yet, he felt really comfortable right now, warm too, even though it was in the middle of winter and the wind had been howling viciously.

Something wasn’t right.

His eyes snapped open, trepidation coursing through his veins, and his heartbeat clamoured as he took in his unfamiliar surroundings.

He was in a room, a  _ warm _ room. What he had thought was ground was actually a bed and Taeyong felt the fur on his tail start to stiffen in alert, beds were for humans only, weren’t they? That was what the trainers had told him at the pet shop. He involuntarily shivered at the memory of the trainers and pushed the thought away.

He sat up and looked down in awe at the blanket that fell over his knees, it was so, so soft. He had never seen anything like it before. They had blankets back at the shop, but it was nothing like this one here. The blankets from the shop were ratty and threadbare, barely enough to keep him warm. But the blanket here was plush and looked new, it gave him instant warmth.

He ran his hand back and forth over the fabric, transfixed, amazed by how wonderful it felt under his hands after going so long with nothing remotely resembling luxury. He bunched up a handful of the blanket and brought it to his face, rubbing his cheek against it. It felt so nice, it smelled nice too—nice enough to make him momentarily forget about the situation he was in.

He was shocked back to reality when he heard the door knob turning, his eyes flew from the door to the only window in the room, the only escape routes but it was much too late to think about either as the door opened and someone walked inside.

Taeyong jerked back in fear when he realised that the person who walked inside was a  _ dog _ hybrid.

Unbidden memories resurfaced in his mind, and Taeyong scrambled off the bed to hide under it.

“Hey, you’re awake—” The dog hybrid paused before bending down to peek under the bed where Taeyong was hiding, “hey are you okay?”

Taeyong closed his eyes and blocked his ears. “Go away!” he shouted, hoping that the dog hybrid would just go and leave him unharmed.

And after a while of gentle prodding, the other hybrid did, much to his surprise.

He ran off, shouting as he ran “Taeil hyung, I think there’s something wrong with the cat!” Taeyong flinched at the loud noise but was glad that the door didn’t slam behind him, that would’ve been worse. He had always hated loud sounds.

Who was Taeil? Another hybrid? Maybe a dog hybrid? He hoped not. Maybe he was a cat hybrid, it wouldn’t be as scary then.

Taeyong curled up into a tighter ball when he heard two pairs of footsteps approaching, tail wrapped around his leg to keep it safe, and watched the doorway warily. He hated being so weak, but dog hybrids were big, and scary. He had claws but he wouldn’t stand a chance against one in a fight.

The dog hybrid bounded into the room again and someone else followed behind him, more calmly. He jerked back in dismay when he saw the person following was a human.

He couldn’t help the whimper that left his mouth or stop the unwanted flashbacks to the trainers and the mean, growling dogs they kept by their sides.

It was too similar, and he was outnumbered. He blinked and suddenly he was back in the shop, being punished and hurt.

He felt the phantom pains across his back, across his tail, almost as if they were happening right now. Taeyong covered his tail with his hands so they couldn’t pull it like how the trainers did, sometimes as a punishment, but often just for their own wicked amusement.

The human stepped closer and Taeyong  _ wailed _ , lashing out randomly, unable to control his own body. He was saying something but Taeyong couldn’t hear it, blood rushing to his head and blocking out all other noise.

Suddenly, he wasn’t under the bed anymore, at least not in his own head. It was as if he was back in that dreadful cage, surrounded by the wailing of others with the stench of desperation assaulting them from all sides. The trainers approaching were mean, and flanked by scary looking dogs and they were  _ coming for him _ . Because he had stepped out of line, and now he was going to suffer for it.

Taeyong knew he was panicking but he couldn’t stop. The human and other hybrid in the room were making it worse, he felt crowded, and he couldn’t breathe.

His breath came out in short wheezes and the human was kneeling next to him, saying something again that he couldn’t hear. Taeyong flinched away and hissed very weakly, swiping blindly with his claws.

After a while, the human left the room, the dog hybrid following after him and Taeyong felt like he could breathe again, if only just. He gripped the wooden frame of the bed to ground himself in reality. He wasn’t there, the trainers couldn’t harm him anymore.

When he had finally calmed down enough, Taeyong withdrew from under the bed and took this chance to look around the room. It was almost bare, the only furniture was the bed and a small bedside table, squeezed in between the bed and the wall. There was one door and one window, the door was where the human and dog had come through, so he’d avoid that.

Taeyong looked out the window and felt his stomach drop, they were at least three stories high and there was no ladder or fire escape in sight. He was good at climbing—something he had to thank his cat genes for—but he had no confidence in making it safely to the ground. His life had been rather miserable, but he still didn’t want to die.

Taeyong felt tears of frustration welling up, he couldn’t run away this way. The human and dog hybrid had done nothing to harm him so far, but who knew what they could still do. He couldn’t let himself trust them and fall into a trap.

He rolled up in the blanket and hid under the bed in a scared little ball. At least it felt safer than being on top of the bed.

  
  
  


He must have drifted off at some point because he was alerted back to consciousness by new, unfamiliar voices right out the door. He had always been a light sleeper and his enhanced hearing picked them up with ease.

There was a knock on the door and a beat of silence before the same human from earlier opened it.

“Hi there, I’m sorry if I scared you earlier, that was my mistake. I should have given you more space. My name is Taeil, what’s your name?” his voice was gentle, soothing, and kind, but Taeyong wouldn’t let himself be fooled. He had to keep his guard up.

He didn’t reply, and Taeil smiled sadly at him but didn’t push him into responding. Instead, he said “There’s someone here who you might like to talk to, he’s a cat hybrid like you. I tried to stop him but he insisted on coming over to see you when he overheard me talking to Kun.”

Taeyong’s ears perked up in interest at that, he didn’t know or care who Kun was, but he definitely wanted to know about the cat hybrid. Taeil read his body language and smiled, Taeyong cursed himself for being so easy to read.

A new voice joined Taeil’s, “Is he awake? I wanna see him, let me in!”

Taeil let himself be pushed aside by the new cat hybrid that barged into the room. He was beautiful, with white and gray patterned fur on his ears and tail. Taeyong suddenly felt very self conscious of his plain, unkempt fur. His eyes zeroed in on the tray of food the other cat hybrid was holding, stomach grumbling to remind him of how hungry he was.

He looked from the hybrid to Taeil and then back to the food the hybrid was holding. Would he be allowed to eat? He really hoped so.

“I’ll leave you two to get better acquainted with each other, just call if you need anything,” Taeil said and left the room, leaving Taeyong alone with this new cat hybrid.

He eyed the other cat carefully, but he seemed to hold no ill intent and his instincts were calm.

The white and gray hybrid carefully placed the tray of food down on the bedside table and flopped down onto the bed, patting the space next to him to indicate that he should do the same.

Well, it seemed relatively safe, not to mention that he was still so hungry, he was willing to take the risk if it meant he could get a chance at some food.

Taeyong cautiously perched on the edge of the bed, waiting for the other hybrid to speak first.

The other hybrid spoke with a slight accent that Taeyong couldn’t place, “This will be easier if we know each other’s names. My name is Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul but that’s kind of hard to remember so just call me Ten. What’s yours?”

Ah, so he was from Thailand then.

“T-Taeyong,” he stuttered out.

“Well, nice to meet you, T-Taeyong, I’m sure we’ll get along well from now on,” Ten copied his stuttering, a teasing glint in his otherwise friendly smile.

“It’s Taeyong,” Taeyong repeated, feeling a sudden flare of irritation at being teased. His stomach chose this great moment to let out an audible whine of complaint. Ten laughed, reaching over to set the tray between them, unscrewing the lid off a container of soup before handing it to Taeyong.

Taeyong looked at food in his hands with disbelief and then back at Ten, had it really been that easy?

Ten glanced over at him from where he was unwrapping a sandwich for himself. “Aren’t you going to eat?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Taeyong said, tentatively taking a sip, pushing away the thought of it possibly being drugged when his stomach grumbled again.

This tasted far better than anything he had ever dug up out of dumpsters to survive.

Taeyong almost choked by tipping the rest of it into his mouth too fast and Ten looked at him in mild concern. But he had to eat it quickly, before anyone could take it away.

“No one’s going to take it off you, and we have plenty of food,” Ten reassured, somehow seemingly reading his mind.

Taeyong nodded, unable to speak, but still ate as if someone was going to steal the food away. Ten handed him a bottle of water when he coughed and rubbed his back soothingly.

“Taeil wants you to take a bath, by the way. I mean, no offense but you kind of have dirt all over you,” Ten casually mentioned, causing Taeyong to pause just as he was about to take his next huge gulp of food. 

Back at the shop, taking a ‘bath’ meant getting doused with a strong jet of icy cold water, Taeil might make him do that too. It was an unpleasant experience that Taeyong wasn’t eager to repeat, but he could endure it, he’d get through it. He had done so countless times before.

He was admittedly rather filthy—it was hard to keep yourself sanitary and clean when all you had to use were public bathrooms—he was actually very surprised that Taeil even let him use any blankets in the state that he was in, let alone an entire bed. The sheets would have to be washed for sure.

His mouth twisted into a scowl, but he quickly hid his distress in case Ten caught on and passed it onto Taeil. Ten seemed nice, but he couldn’t fully trust him yet. He didn’t want to risk offending the human in fear of receiving punishment, not after he had been kind enough to allow him to eat.

He had to escape before he got hurt. It was just too bad that that might mean no more good food, but he had survived before without it and he’d survive again.

  
  
  


Taeyong was somewhat upset when Ten had to leave, he was the only other cat hybrid he had had contact with for almost a year. Being alone for so long felt unnatural. He told himself to get over it, he’d be alone again sooner or later.

  
  
  


Apparently, taking a bath here was different. Instead of being hosed down with cold water like he had expected, he was handed a fluffy towel and a set of extra clothes and shown to a bathroom. The bath was already filled and when Taeyong tested the water, he was surprised to find it pleasantly warm.

Possibly most surprising of all, was that Taeil closed the door and allowed him his privacy. It was such a simple and basic form of respect and yet it surprised Taeyong all the same.

He took his time, allowing himself to indulge in the big tub and let the warm water wash away the filth that had accumulated for months.

There were tempting bottles of colourful bubble baths stacked on the shelf but Taeyong didn’t dare touch those.

The knowledge that he was still in an unfamiliar house with two unfamiliar people hung over him like a stormcloud while he was soaking in the warm water. He knew that he’d have to face them eventually, but he wanted to delay it for as long as possible.

They had been nothing but kind to him so far—providing him with a warm bed, food, and clothes—but there had to be a catch, a trap, somewhere.

Eventually, the water grew cold and his fingers became wrinkled like dry prunes. He didn’t want to get out, he didn’t want to face the people outside that door, but he knew logically that he couldn’t spend much longer in the bathtub. He had to face reality at some point.

Taeyong toweled himself dry and changed into the clothes Taeil had lent him, he had said that the clothes were borrowed from Jaehyun—the dog hybrid he had seen before. The fabric felt strange and hung off his frame weirdly, but they weren’t entirely uncomfortable. Most importantly, they were warm.

Slowly, he twisted the door knob and opened it just enough so he could see out into the lounge. The TV was on, and Jaehyun was watching it, it looked like a feel-good drama, and the dimples that appeared on the other hybrid when he smiled made him seem like the opposite of mean and scary.

He hovered in the doorway of that bathroom, eyes scanning left and right as he wondered where to go. Maybe he could use this chance to sneak away, but he thought of the delicious soup from before, and Ten. Suddenly the thought of going outside into the freezing cold seemed unwelcome.

He glanced back to where Jaehyun was watching TV, before his eyes wandered to the door again. He was conflicted, he couldn’t know if this place was safe yet. He knew for sure that living on streets definitely wasn’t safe, but this place could turn out to be worse, but it could also turn out to be better. This place had nice beds and food, and Jaehyun and Taeil didn’t seem all that harmful, but could he really trust them? Looks could be deceiving.

Before he could stress about it too much, Taeil approached him with a warm smile that didn’t falter when he took a tiny step back. The human didn’t step forward either, but allowed him to put as much space between them as he felt was needed. That was a good sign, he guessed.

Jaehyun paused the TV and twisted around in his seat to watch him and his owner. Taeyong shifted on the spot, uncomfortable under the weight of the stares, Taeil seemed to notice this, as he then politely asked Jaehyun to leave the room for a little while.

Jaehyun agreed, and shut the door behind him with a quiet click.

After Jaehyun was gone, Taeil turned to him, “Would you like to sit down on the couch, I’d like to discuss some things. Make yourself comfortable,” he said. His body language was entirely open and unthreatening, Taeyong wondered if he was doing it deliberately, he didn’t know if it was because the human sincerely meant no harm or if he was trying to lure him into a false sense of security. He hadn’t decided yet.

The trainers back in that hell had never bothered to put up false kind pretenses, so why would this human be any different?

At last, after a lot of hesitation, Taeyong nodded and Taeil seemed to smile wider at that. He followed the human into the lounge and sat down gingerly on the edge of the couch, he was ready to spring up and bolt at any moment if he felt threatened.

The human sat down across from him on the floor, which was odd, but it did give Taeyong the advantage if he wanted to suddenly get up and run away, and it did make him feel slightly safer and more at ease.

Taeil shifted until he was comfortable on the floor and Taeyong watched his every move carefully, but he didn’t make any move to reach towards him or display any hostility. Taeil had actually put a lot of space between Taeyong and himself and Taeyong found himself relaxing ever so slightly.

Taeil started with an easy question.

“So, Taeyong, right? Ten told us that your name was Taeyong but is there any other name that you prefer or is just Taeyong fine?”

Taeyong shook his head, he liked his name. Being called Taeyong was fine.

“Okay, just checking. Jaehyun’s legitimate name is actually Yoonoh but he prefers Jaehyun so just call him that please.”

Taeyong nodded in response, glad that this conversation had gotten off to an easy start, and also glad that he had so far not had to participate with anything except a nod or a shake of his head.

But then, Taeil started asking more difficult questions.

“Where did you come from? Jaehyun found you passed out in the snow outside, it was honestly quite scary. I would have taken you to a hybrid hospital but it was late at night so everything was closed,” Taeil informed.

Taeyong balked, he didn’t want to tell Taeil that he had run away from a hybrid pet shop and had been homeless for most of the year. Although it didn’t take a genius to guess that he was a stray, his dirty appearance and lack of collar gave that away, but he still didn’t want to say it.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. Do you have a home? Or a place to stay?” Taeil asked, his voice becoming gentler. He continued when Taeyong offered no response, “Because if you don’t, then I’d like to offer you my place as a home.”

That offer was way too good to be true, but Taeyong didn’t want to outright refuse in case the human decided to drop the nice act— _ if _ it was an act, he wasn’t sure yet—and Ten had told him that this was a nice place, but to what extent could he really trust Ten? He  _ wanted _ to trust Ten because he was a fellow cat hybrid, but the other cat could just be carrying out the human’s orders.

Jaehyun didn’t seem that bad, he hadn’t growled at or bit him at all, he hadn’t even snapped his teeth. Additionally, he looked quite different from the dogs the trainers had used back in that hell. The trainers had used really big, aggressive dogs, with sharp teeth that  _ hurt _ .

Jaehyun, on the other hand, looked… cuddly. There was no better word Taeyong could use to describe him. He looked cuddly. He told himself once again that looks could be deceiving.

He really  _ wanted _ to trust them. Everything they were promising seemed so nice, it’d be so great if it all turned out to be true.

As if sensing his inner turmoil, Taeil interjected “I’m so sorry, this must be all so sudden to you. I just really want to help you and give you a loving home, especially because a terribly large amount of hybrids get deprived of that.”

Taeil’s smile slipped off his face and he sighed sadly, looking down at the floor. When he looked back up his friendly smile was back in place. “Just please think about it and give me your answer, you can sleep on it, if you want. I’m also going to make an appointment for you to see a doctor because you look really malnourished and I’d hate for you to fall sick. The doctor at the nearby hybrid clinic is actually a close friend of mine, I promise that he’s very gentle and kind.”

It wasn’t a bad offer, Taeyong had to admit that. Although the mention of the doctor’s visit made him feel queasy.

  
  
  


In the end, Taeyong did sleep on it before giving Taeil an answer. Strangely enough, the human hadn’t been upset when he didn’t answer immediately and just smiled in understanding before wishing him a good night of rest.

When the morning dawned bright over his face, Taeyong woke up feeling better rested than he had in years. He had fallen asleep surprisingly quickly, and had slept deeply through the entire night, which was unprecedented.

He could already hear people moving around outside and Taeyong concluded that he was the last one to wake up.

Slowly, he climbed out of bed and crept towards the door, he pressed his ear against the wood to try and hear what was going on outside. He thanked his enhanced hearing—he was proud of his superior senses—it was one of the very few things that he actually liked about being a hybrid.

Taeyong recognised the voice speaking as that of Jaehyun’s, “Do you think he hates me?” he could faintly hear the dog hybrid sniff from the other side of the door. “I want to be friends but what if I did something wrong that ruined everything?”

Taeyong moved away from the door, feeling like this was a conversation that he shouldn’t be spying on.

Him, a cat hybrid, be friends with a dog hybrid? The idea sounded absurd to him, but everything here had been the opposite of what he had thought was normal.

It was all so different. He had been given nice food, a warm bath, clothes, and he had been allowed to sleep in a bed, and so far nothing had been forced from him in return. He hadn’t been shouted at, degraded, or hit, not even once.

If everything was so different here, then maybe Taeil really was a nice person. Maybe Ten really didn’t have any ulterior motives when they had met yesterday. Maybe he really could be friends with a dog hybrid.

He pressed his ear to the door again but he couldn’t hear anything. Determining the lull in conversation to be a good time to step outside, Taeyong took a deep breath to steel himself before twisting the door knob.

Two pairs of eyes snapped up to look at him when he opened the door and Taeyong tried not to feel nervous. He met eyes with Jaehyun first and noticed that they were red-rimmed as if he had been crying. He quickly looked away.

The frightening image that Taeyong had of Jaehyun in his head began to crumble and fall apart.

Taeyong’s focus was drawn to Taeil when the human started speaking.

“Ah, good morning. I hope you slept well?” Taeil worded it like a question and Taeyong nodded—it had felt like the best sleep he had gotten in years—Taeil beamed happily in response, “I’m so glad, you looked like you could use some extra sleep. Come eat, I hope you like rice and soup,” he was ushered forward to where Taeil was putting dishes on the breakfast counter.

Jaehyun came holding three pairs of spoons and chopsticks and placed them down in front of the seats.

Taeyong timidly obliged, standing around awkwardly until Taeil guestered toward the seats and urged him to sit anywhere he pleased. Taeyong took the seat on the far right, Jaehyun sat down next to him, leaving the seat on the left open for Taeil.

Taeyong’s stomach twisted with anxiety but Jaehyun made no move other than to sit down and start eating. He watched, heart fluttering with dread, eating before the human had finished eating was sure to result in a punishment, but Jaehyun looked completely relaxed and Taeil seemed unbothered.

“What’s wrong?” Taeil asked, coming around to sit down as well, “Do you not like it?”

“No, I do,” Taeyong said, before clamping his hands over his mouth, terrified that he had been unintentionally rude by not using honorifics but Taeil didn’t seem upset, just slightly bemused. “But,” Taeyong mumbled, voice only just a whisper, “Don’t I have to wait for you to eat first? Won’t I get punished?”

Taeyong was just so  _ confused _ . They acted nothing like how he had experienced other humans and dog hybrids act before. They had treated him kindly since the moment he had woken up in this strange place and Taeyong wanted to know  _ why _ .

He had expected humans to be cruel and treat him like he was nothing more than the dirt soiling their shoes. He had expected dog hybrids to coldly carry out their master’s commands without any hesitation, and most of the time, those commands were to hurt and hurt and  _ hurt. _

Now it felt like all his expectations had been ripped to shreds and left him with no ground to stand on.

Taeil’s eyebrows rose and his mouth opened in a little ‘o’. Jaehyun stopped eating to stare at him. Taeyong just wished that whatever they said next would make him able to understand why and how this was happening.

Taeil opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, and then closed it again. Taeyong waited with his tail swishing around anxiously, scared that the human might get upset with him for questioning his intentions.

Taeil reached towards him with outstretched arms and Taeyong thought that this was it, he had finally reached the end of his patience. Taeyong screwed his eyes shut and braced for the impact, his ears were pressed flat against his head and his limbs clenched up with the urge to flee.

This was bound to have happened eventually, it was all too nice—the bath, the clothes, the food—there had to have been a drawback somewhere, and this must have been it. He hoped the pain ended quickly.

He didn’t expect to be pulled into a gentle hug.

Taeyong’s heart thundered, panic climbing up his throat, what possible reason could Taeil possibly have for hugging him? He had been absolutely sure that he was about to get hit by the human. The arms around him tightened by a fractional amount and Taeyong couldn’t bear with the overwhelming contact anymore.

He twisted himself out of Taeil’s arms and ran away into the room that he had woken up in. It was only after he had dove under the bed did he think stop and think about the consequences he’d now have to face.

He had practically ripped himself away from Taeil, he had physically  _ pushed  _ the human away. If the human hadn’t been upset before, then he must be now. What had he been thinking? He had probably just made his punishment worse. He closed his eyes to stop the tears and hoped that whatever Taeil did, it wouldn’t be as bad as the whip. The whip had been reserved for especially severe punishments at the shop and left marks that wouldn’t heal for weeks.

There was a quiet knock on the door and Taeyong yelped, grabbing his swishing tail and holding it in his hands.

The door opened and Taeil stepped inside, “Taeyong?” he called out.

Taeyong stilled his breathing and kept perfectly silent, just like he did back at the shop when he was hiding from the trainers, despite knowing that he was only putting off the inevitable punishment that was sure to follow.

“Taeyong?” Taeil tried again and Taeyong clamped his hands over his mouth in case any whimpers might escape and give away his location. Unfortunately, this now meant that his tail was free to thrash around in agitation and it gave away his location by loudly thumping against the ground.

Two feet approached the bed and Taeyong shrank away as much as he dared without making it easy for someone to grab his ankles from the other side and pull him out.

“Taeyong,” Taeil called again from above him, “Please come out, I promise I won’t hurt you.”

Taeyong stayed put despite his brain screaming at him to obey before he made his punishment worse. That promise to not be harmed was surely just a lure, he had fallen for it countless times before. But if he came out now, he might get away with just a few cuffs around the ear. If he stayed hidden and angered the human more, he might get more severely punished.

Taeyong whimpered and drew away when Taeil bent down to look under the bed, he knew he had to come out eventually, the sooner the better really, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to leave the relative safety there was under the bed.

“Taeyong,” Taeil knelt down next to the bed, “I am so sorry I hugged you earlier without any warning like that. I wasn’t thinking, I was trying to comfort you but what I did was so wrong. I was so sad that you expected punishment for something like eating before me, I want to tell you that that isn’t punishment, but abuse.”

Taeil sucked in a deep breath before continuing, “I shouldn’t have touched you without receiving your consent first, I am so sorry if I scared or hurt you. I really meant what I said about wanting to give you a safe, loving home so please,” Taeil hiccuped, “please don’t feel like you have to hide from me or Jaehyun.”

Taeyong froze when he realised that Taeil was  _ crying _ .

Why was Taeil, a human, crying over a lowly hybrid such as Taeyong? It bewildered him and went against everything he had learnt to expect from humans.

That being said, everything here was going against his expectations.

He had thought that finding a loving home would be impossible for a hybrid like him, but Taeil was offering him one right now and he seemed so sincere, he couldn’t find any lies in the human’s words.

He really wanted a home, and if he accepted Taeil’s offer, then would that mean he could have one?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [CC](https://curiouscat.qa/117_Nectar)
> 
> Please feed me with comments, they keep me strong.


	2. Chapter 2

Taeyong stared through the mirror at the tag on the brand new collar around his neck. He had only just received it. Taeil had gone out to get him an official tag as soon as he had accepted the human’s offer of a new home.

Taeil had been really excited when Taeyong tentatively approached him after lunch and said that he would like to stay. In his excitement, the short human had even made a list of all the things they had to do now that Taeyong was going to be living with them permanently. The first thing on the list had been choosing a collar.

Taeyong had been taken along so he could choose a design that he liked, although he had tried to insist that he’d be fine with anything. Jaehyun had come too, claiming that he’d be bored staying at home alone.

There had been so many designs and shapes to choose from, ranging from the ordinary black ones to big flashy collars studded with rhinestones that Taeyong didn’t dare touch in fear of breaking something.

He did, admittedly, still feel nervous around Taeil and Jaehyun, although he had now accepted that they were nothing like the trainers and dogs from the pet shop. He supposed he had really lucked out when Taeil had decided to take him in.

Taeyong had decided on a plain red collar made out of imitation leather with a tiny hook at the front where a tag could be attached, and was now admiring it in the mirror the shop had leaning against a wall.

Jaehyun cooed next to him, and said that it suited him.

“Does it feel okay?” Taeil asked, after he paid, “I know wearing a collar can be demeaning, but it helps avoid problems while you’re walking around outside.”

“It’s perfect! I like it, thank you,” Taeyong said, still playing with the tag and watching how the metal gleamed when light reflected off it.

“Oh, okay, that’s good,” Taeil beamed, and took a few notes out of his pocket and handed them to Jaehyun, “Finishing up all this paperwork might take a while, so why don’t you guys go get some bubble tea while you wait.”

“Okay! Thank you hyung,” Jaehyun grinned excitedly, dimples popping out, “Do you want us to get you a cup as well?”

“No, I’m good, thanks though. Stay there and I’ll come meet you when I’m done here. Call me if anything happens.”

That’s how Taeyong found himself walking with Jaehyun to the small cafe down the road, the tag on his collar bounced with every step he took and reminded him of its presence.

Jaehyun was exuberant, running ahead a few steps before pausing and turning back to make sure Taeyong was still following.

It didn’t take long before Taeyong couldn’t hold his tongue anymore, genuine curiosity taking over him and prompting him to ask, “Why are you so excited?”

“Because,” Jaehyun spinned around to face him, beaming, “I really love bubble tea but Taeil hyung says it’s bad for your health so we can’t have it very often.”

Taeyong frowned, bubble tea, he had not heard of that before. He waited for an explanation but since none came, he asked Jaehyun what bubble tea was.

Jaehyun’s jaw fell open and he stared at Taeyong in disbelief. “You know, bubble tea? Boba? It’s the best,” Jaehyun said, frantically waving his hands around as if he was talking about something of utmost importance. “You know what I’m talking about, right?”

“No, I don't,” Taeyong said slowly, shaking his head, feeling somewhat nonplussed.

Jaehyun gaped at him as if he had just said the most obscene, unimaginable curse word ever.

Taeyong just stared back and waited for an explanation.

“Okay so there’s like a lot of really yummy flavors to choose from, right? And there are these really cute tapioca pearls in it, and they give you a really wide straw so you can drink the pearls up as well,” Jaehyun explained. “Does that sound familiar? Anyway, it’s the best! You have to try it.”

“Is it really that bad for your health?” Taeyong frowned, wondering if it was anything like what he had dug out of the dumpsters to survive, the things in there were probably bad for your health too.

“It’s okay if you only have it every now and then, and it’s not nearly as bad as something like smoking.”

By the time they had finished talking, they were already in front of the cafe and Taeyong entered gratefully, glad to be out of the cold outside. A few heads had turned their way when they entered but most turned back to what they were previously doing.

Jaehyun heaved a happy sigh, also pleased to be out of the cold, and turned to Taeyong. “What flavour do you want?”

Uhm,” Taeyong stalled, he didn’t really know what flavours there were, but they were pictures on the menu. “That purple one looks pretty?” he said, pointing to the large blown up picture on display.

“Oh, taro? Yeah I like that one too, it’s really sweet though and Yuta hyung said that you have to always extra carefully brush your teeth after eating sweet things. I’ll order that one anyway, and you can always try more flavours later.” Jaehyun said and wandered up to the counter to order and pay before Taeyong could even think about asking who Yuta was.

Taeyong shifted nervously when Jaehyun went to collect their drinks, which left him standing awkwardly alone. He glanced around at the other patrons of the cafe, not having been around so many people in an enclosed space for so long. One man was eyeing him like he was a slab of meat and it made his skin crawl. Taeyong quickly looked down at the shoes he had borrowed off Jaehyun, afraid of making eye contact with the man.

He couldn’t help but feel relieved when Jaehyun returned, holding two tall glasses of taro bubble tea in his hands. He let himself be led to a small secluded booth in the corner and sat down, shifting so his tail wouldn’t get squashed beneath him.

Jaehyun was right about bubble tea tasting great, the bubbles were kinda weird and squishy but in a fascinating way. Taeyong drained his glass quickly, making Jaehyun laugh about how quickly he finished it. He licked around his lips to collect any residue liquid that remained. The sweet taste lingered on his tongue and he decided that he liked it.

  
  
  


They had been in the cafe for almost an hour, just chatting idly, Taeyong didn’t have much to say and Jaehyun filled in the gaps he left. The man that had made him uncomfortable before had left without harassing them which Taeyong was endlessly grateful for.

It was almost funny how different the general public treated him when he wore a collar and tag around his neck. He was still leered and ogled at, but he hadn’t been assaulted and the shop owners didn’t kick him out the second they laid eyes on him.

He decided that he liked that a lot.

Lost in conversation with Jaehyun, he was completely unprepared for the intense first wave of dizziness that hit. He blinked, trying to clear his head, hoping that it would just pass, but to no avail.

“What’s wrong?” Jaehyun, who had been observing him, asked, but Taeyong couldn’t answer. All he knew was that he felt a sudden overwhelming urge to throw up.

He tried to stand, but only managed to get about half way up before collapsing back into his seat. He leaned over the table, feeling unbearably lightheaded.

There was a hand on his back, steadying him. “Hey, why don’t we go into the bathroom if you feel sick, there’s more privacy there.”

Jaehyun hauled him out of the seat and let Taeyong lean on him and he guided him to the cafe’s bathroom. On any other occasion, Taeyong would have freaked out at the sudden close proximity, but at that moment he could only focus on putting one foot in front of the other as Jaehyun supported him so he wouldn’t fall.

They made it to the bathroom and Jaehyun readjusted Taeyong’s weight so he could open the door and drag them both inside. The short trip had exhausted the cat hybrid completely and he was of half a mind to just lie down and take a nap on the floor, nausea be damned.

He sunk down to his knees and rested his head against the stall door and just stayed there, feeling sick but not having the energy to move. He watched through clouded eyes as Jaehyun panicked above him, fumbling with his phone until he finally managed to dial Taeil’s number.

Expletives left the dog hybrid’s mouth as he paced around the tiny bathroom stall while he waited for Taeil to pick up. Taeyong watched as the dangly little phone charm swayed back and forth and he vaguely registered that this was the first time he had ever heard the other swear.

A particularly strong wave of dizziness washed over him and Taeyong gave up on staying upright, instead opting to fall onto the dirty bathroom floor. The tiles were cool against his cheek and Taeyong grasped onto that feeling to ground himself.

“Taeyong?” Jaehyun turned around, phone still in hand, when he heard a dull thump behind him. “Taeyong?” his voice raised in alarm when he saw Taeyong’s figure slumped over on the tiles, he was crouched by Taeyong’s side in an instant, hands hovering over the still figure.

Taeyong blinked and managed to lift his head slightly off the ground before weariness overtook him and he collapsed again.

“Shit, uh, okay. Just hang in there, alright? Taeil hyung is on his way now.”

  
  
  


True to his word, Taeil came rushing through the door not long after, concern etched into his features. “Taeyong!” the human called as he hurried over to where Taeyong laid. “Can you sit up?” Taeil asked and crouched down by Taeyong’s side, not caring about the floor dirtying his clothes.

Taeyong managed to weakly shake his head, the small motion alone caused the colours around him to blur.

“Oh dear, that’s not good,” Taeil muttered. “I’m going to put my hands under you and carry you to my car, and then drive you to the hospital, alright?”

A tiny, affirmative nod was all Taeyong could give before gentle hands were placed under him and lifted him up. Taeil carried him out of the bathroom and through the cafe, ignoring the stares they got from the cafe’s patrons. Jaehyun hurried ahead of them, holding the door open so they could both get through easily.

The movement and stares from strangers both made Taeyong feel faint but Taeil’s arms wrapped securely around him was like an anchor that stopped him from drifting away.

“I already called the hospital and warned them that we were on the way and they said they should have everything prepared by the time we get there. Don’t worry, you’ll be in good hands,” Taeil explained as they strided towards the car that Taeil had parked on the side of the road in his haste to get to both Taeyong and Jaehyun.

Taeyong was carefully settled down into the backseat and the safety belt was fastened over his chest.

Taeyong started with a jolt at the sound of the buckle clicking into place, his nerves were already frayed, well-worn, and tattered. He had to repeat that the belt was only there for his own safety in his head like a mantra to chase away the familiar panic that was steadily threatening to climb up his throat.

Jaehyun slid into the seat next to him and tentatively moved his hand so it was close enough for Taeyong to grab if he wanted to, but not so close that he was forcing them to touch.

Taeyong grabbed his hand and held on with as much strength as he could muster.

  
  
  


Hybrid hospitals were different from the hospitals meant for humans. Instead of being open to new patients 24 hours a day in case of any emergency, they shut at night and on public holidays, leaving only the inpatients receiving treatment inside. They were essentially vet centres.

Taeyong didn’t have time to take in his surroundings when they entered the hybrid hospital, he was instead immediately rushed to a consultation room. The doctor they met with introduced himself as Nakamoto Yuta with a wide smile that displayed two rows of perfect white teeth.

The name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he heard it before, and he was, quite frankly, too exhausted to try.

He had been in doctor’s rooms before, when he had been hurt badly enough that the shop couldn’t just ignore it, and while this room was similar in many aspects, there were tiny differences that Taeyong couldn’t help but take note of.

The first that caught his eye were the posters tacked to the wall, giving splashes of colour to a room that would have otherwise been clinically white. The next was the plump pillow on the patient bed, and the pile of plushies sitting innocently in the corner. He had the urge to go and rub his face against them, but standing up and walking there seemed like an impossibly hard task, if only the plushies could walk themselves and come to him instead.

He hadn’t even noticed that he had tuned out the conversation around him until he received a gentle nudge from Jaehyun and he saw that everyone had their attention turned to him.

“What?” he squeaked, hating the way his voice went high and cracked. He scolded himself for not paying attention, and therefore inconveniencing the doctor who would have to repeat himself now.

Earlier, before he had met Taeil or Jaehyun, before he had even known what the streets were like, he would have gotten belted for that. The life he had lived then seemed worlds apart from the life he lived now.

But this doctor didn’t show any signs of irritation, and instead just patiently repeated his question, his kind smile never faded. Taeyong wondered if this is what Taeil had meant when he said that he’d be in good hands.

“Do you remember when you started feeling sick?” His voice was gentle too, and despite himself, Taeyong wasn’t scared, or maybe that was just the fatigue overriding his nervousness for now.

“I think it was in the cafe, about an hour after I drank that bubble tea,” Taeyong replied, his throat felt dry and scratchy, he wondered if he could ask for a drink of water here.

“I see, and what did you eat before that?”

“Uh I think I had a bowl of rice,” Taeyong said, thinking about the breakfast that had been reheated after he had calmed from his panic attack, “and soup.”

“And what did you eat before Taeil took you in?”

Taeyong visibly shrunk in on himself, he didn’t want to admit to scavenging through rubbish bins and occasionally stealing from shops for food. He knew stealing was bad. It made him feel dirty, even more so in this room where everything was pristine and spotless.

Yuta must have noticed Taeyong shrinking in his seat as his ears pressed against his head in sad little triangles because he then reassured Taeyong, “It’s really important that you tell me the truth, as much as you can remember. I’m not here to judge you, I’m here to help you get back in good health.”

“I didn’t eat much,” Taeyong’s voice came out faint, but audible. “I dug through trash bins most of the time for scraps and sometimes I stole things when I got so hungry and I couldn’t find anything else.”

There, that wasn’t so hard. Taeyong felt the tension in his shoulders relax slightly, being able to confess to all of that aloud had actually felt somewhat relieving.

“I see.” Yuta turned to Taeil this time, “How much have you been feeding him?”

“About the same amount that Jaehyun or I would normally eat, I figured that it’d be the best way to get him up to a healthy weight quickly.” Taeil shot him a quick comforting smile after that—as if to reassure Taeyong that he was not at fault nor was he being blamed for anything—before focusing his attention back on the doctor.

Yuta sighed, and began typing something rapidly into his computer, fingers flying across the keys. “That appears to be the problem. Since Taeyong was, and still is, severely malnourished, it appears that the sudden reintroduction of large amounts of food shocked his system.” Taeil grew quieter as Yuta spoke. “I suspect refeeding syndrome, which can be fatal in the worst conditions. You’re lucky that Taeyong is only showing signs of fatigue and nausea. I’d like to keep him in the hospital for a few days, to monitor his condition and supervise the recovery process.”

“Of course,” Taeil said, looking fairly shocked, “please do whatever you need to do to help him get better.”

_ What? _

Taeil turned and addressed him this time, holding Taeyong’s disorientated gaze with his own. “Taeyong, do you think you can be really brave and stay here at the hospital for a few nights? It’d just be until you fully recover.”

Taeyong blinked at him blankly, brain still trying to process the situation he was in, the dregs of dizziness still there from earlier didn’t help.

Was he getting left behind? Did they not want him anymore?

“We’ll come visit you everyday! I’ll bring Ten too and we can play uno together,” Jaehyun jumped in before his thoughts could progress too far down that path.

Taeil nodded, looking mildly pale, “I’ll see about getting you a smartphone as well, so you can contact us. You’ll be back home before you know it.”

So… he wasn’t being left behind?

“Taeyong, listen,” Taeil started, his voice was soothing and Taeyong unconsciously found himself leaning towards it. “I’m sorry that you have to suddenly stay in the hospital when you haven’t even gotten used to your new home yet, but it’s really going to help you to get better and stop feeling sick.”

“And then when you get out we can go shopping and buy some new clothes for you, how does that sound?” Taeil was back to smiling now, but it looked a little weak and forced, like he was only smiling to reassure him and not because he was actually happy.

“Okay,” Taeyong agreed in a hushed voice, despite the fear that seemed to crawl and tighten over his skin. He didn’t want to be left alone overnight in this unfamiliar place, even if it was a hospital. It kind of reminded him of how he had been scared when he had woken up in Taeil’s house for the first time.

But he also didn’t want a repeat of what had happened in the cafe, that had felt absolutely awful.

Beside him, Yuta coughed lightly to get their attention and stood, yawning slightly “I finished talking with one of the nurses about sorting out a room, they just got everything ready. I’ll show you where it is. Before we leave,” Yuta said, pointing to the pile of plushies in the corner, “you can choose one of the soft toys to take with you, if you want.”

He did want that. He glanced at the doctor, hesitation showing in his eyes, and when Yuta nodded at him encouragingly to go ahead, he reached in and pulled out an adorable fox pup. He gripped the toy tightly to his chest, silently grateful to have something soft to cuddle while he was here.

“Taeil and Jaehyun can go with you up to your room, but then they’ll have to leave,” Yuta said, holding the door open for them and motioning for them to follow him through.

Taeyong looked out the window and was surprised to see that the sky had already taken on a pinkish hue.

The room Yuta led him to was fairly simple, it had a single bed and a small nightstand, as well as another door that led to an ensuite bathroom. There was an unfamiliar contraption next to the bed, it kind of looked like a coat rack, but there was an odd bag filled with fluid hanging from it.

It was almost time for the hospital to close and Taeil and Jaehyun were saying their goodbyes, both reassuring him that he’d be better again in no time. They were about to leave but Taeyong felt uneasy, watching them turn their backs. He just knew that he had to do something to alleviate this feeling, before he ran out of time.

Acting on instinct, Taeyong reached for and clutched Jaehyun’s hand before he could get too far away, prompting the dog hybrid to turn around in surprise.

“Promise me that you’ll definitely visit,” Taeyong blurted out before he could stop himself. His face flushed and he wondered if he had sounded too needy before the surprised look melted into a happy grin.

“Of course,” Jaehyun exclaimed, “I promise!”

Taeil had turned around too, and now looked like he very much didn’t want to leave at all. Yuta chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder, “Don’t worry too much Taeil, he’ll be well taken care of.”

“Thank you Yuta,” Taeil sighed, sounding resigned, “Good night Taeyong, make sure you rest up lots,” he waved goodbye at him, before reluctantly turning around to leave.

“Bye bye Taeyong! I’ll see you tomorrow,” Jaehyun also waved, more enthusiastically, and then turned to follow his human.

Which left Taeyong alone in the room with Yuta, which felt more uncomfortable now that neither Jaehyun nor Taeil was there to act as a buffer between them.

Yuta, to his credit however, kept enough distance between them that Taeyong wouldn’t feel immediately threatened, and explained what he was doing clearly before doing it.

He learned that the odd looking bag and coat rack was actually an IV drip that contained a multivitamin and mineral solution that would help him recover.

He had to hold very still as Yuta sterilised his arm with an alcohol wipe and then started inserting the IV. He closed his eyes and turned his head away, not wanting to watch, fearing that he might get nauseous again.

Before he knew it, Yuta was done and had placed white tape over everything to keep it securely in place.

“Well done, you did very well,” Yuta praised and Taeyong felt an unfamiliar but pleasant feeling bubble up in his chest at his words. He didn’t think he was brave enough to explore what that feeling meant yet.

“You can still walk around with that drip but you need to be very careful and take it slow, make sure you’re taking the IV stand with you if you’re walking around.” Yuta did a final check over the equipment, and apparently everything met his satisfaction, because he hummed happily and left it.

Taeyong said that he was fine when Yuta asked him if he needed anything else, if the doctor had noticed the tremor in his voice, he chose not to comment on it.

After making sure that Taeyong was going to be alright for the night, Yuta left too and shut the door behind him with a quiet click.

Taeyong knew the lights in the corridor were off when the light no longer leaked under the gap in his door. Taeyong was, once again, left alone in an unfamiliar room.

He reminded himself that Jaehyun would visit tomorrow—he had promised!—and maybe Ten as well. He used that thought to comfort himself as he clutched the baby fox to his chest using the arm that didn’t have the drip in it.

  
  
  


It wasn’t until later, when Taeyong saw the hospital issued toothbrush in the bathroom, that he remembered why Yuta’s name had sounded familiar.

  
  
  


The moonlight that fell through the blinds cast ominous shadows across the room, it was all too easy to deceive his mind into thinking that they were more than just mere harmless shadows.

Everything here was still in the flawless silence of the room. While Taeyong had once taken comfort in the silence, it now only served to make him feel more alone. He found himself missing Jaehyun and Ten, and even Taeil, despite having only known them for a short period of time.

Taeyong shook himself out of it, the shadows were merely just shadows, nothing more, nothing less.

He hoped that this night would pass soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [CC](https://curiouscat.qa/117_Nectar) <3
> 
> AO3 really had me confused with how the formatting and author's notes work but ~hopefully~ everything looks fine.


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